New Nissan plant in Oman's SOHAR Freezone deploys high-tech flooring

The United Kingdom-based industrial flooring firm Twintec has put the finishing touches on a massive state-of-the-art floor slab in Nissan’s new auto finishing plant in Oman’s SOHAR Freezone economic area.

The seamless slab is made of steel-fibre reinforced concrete and is the biggest ever laid in Oman.

The large jointless floor slab is designed to give Nissan a number of benefits over traditional reinforced saw-cut concrete floors. The construction time is significantly shorter and maintenance costs will be reduced while efficiencies increase. The sleek concrete slab will provide a smooth ride for material handling equipment that will move across the floor, cutting down on vehicle maintenance as well.

The high-tech slab comes into the Nissan plant as the SOHAR Freezone is becoming one of the fastest growing Middle East automotive hubs.

Representatives from the SOHAR Freezone and Nissan Motor Company, the world's sixth largest auto manufacturer, were on hand to see the final touches on the slab that forms the base of the new 150,000 square-meter plant.

"As the automotive cluster in SOHAR Freezone continues to grow apace, it is great to see the latest technologies being adopted by our tenants,” SOHAR Freezone CEO Jamal Aziz said. “The huge demands that a large car plant places on its flooring requires not only technical knowledge but also world-class technology, if you want to build a sustainable solution."

Environmental sustainability is a major factor considered with each new project built in the Freezone. Technical and Commercial Director of Twintec Tom Menary said the new floor has impressive green credentials.

"We always seek to minimize the environmental impact of our operations, which is why our slab designs champion the use of cement replacement and minimize the use of heavy steel bar reinforcement,” Menary said. “This improves the whole-life environmental performance of our projects."